FNRttC Manchester-Morecambe FNRttC 16th October 2015.
- Thread starter Andrew Br
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
It seems to me unbooked bicycle carriage is at the whim of the train staff on the day.
I've turned up a couple of times without a booking and got on.
But different operators may have different policies about that, which adds a further layer of complication.
My feeling is that if you turn up in good time, you will probably be allowed on.
But my feeling won't help much if you are left on the platform.
My other suggestion, not entirely flippant, is buy, borrow or hire a Brompton.
No train operator can reasonably deny carriage if you have one of those because it's the only folder that will fit between the seats, so is classified as hand luggage.
OP
OP
Andrew Br
Still part of the team !
- Location
- Chorlton Cum Hardy
Don't try to travel on Virgin without a bike reservation, they simply won't let you on (IME) although there is lots of room for more than the 3 bikes that they allow.
Train to Sheffield then to Manchester Ian ?
Also, don't forget the return ...............
Train to Sheffield then to Manchester Ian ?
Also, don't forget the return ...............
OP
OP
Andrew Br
Still part of the team !
- Location
- Chorlton Cum Hardy
I missed someone else (doh !) and there has been another joiner:-
Adam B
Andrew Br
Adrian C
Charlie B
Gordon P
Jane D
John S
Katie S
Kim W
Marcus C
Mary L
Mick D
Pete L
Rebecca O
Sonia W
Steve R
Stu A
Tacey L
Adam B
Andrew Br
Adrian C
Charlie B
Gordon P
Jane D
John S
Katie S
Kim W
Marcus C
Mary L
Mick D
Pete L
Rebecca O
Sonia W
Steve R
Stu A
Tacey L
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Half-serious suggestion- big soft travel bag and take the wheels off. One of the guys I was with on a trip in South Wales back in 2009 did that- this was the weekend of the Green Man festival and the train was packed, both he and I got on though (I had a bike reservation).
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
Yes, I did this for one of the York to Hull rides. The guard said all the booked bike spaces were full, but once I'd whipped out my soft bag, he was perfectly happy with the bike only partially dismantled with handlebars and saddle sticking out of the bag, and resting against everyone else's bikes, because it was then "luggage". Once in York, then it was just a few minutes to be mobile again, and fold the bike bag back inside a rucksack.
mmmmartin
Random geezer
on a york-hull ride, the train up was "full" of bikes and a chap appeardd with a complete bike, no bag, with the wheels in an Ikea bag over his shoulder. He put the bike somewhere random in the guards van and the guard was perfectly happy, and the chap then carried the Ikea bag containing two filthy bike wheels into the carriage and put them above his head in the luggage rack.
I'm a fan of a roll of clingfilm for wrapping bikes. Also of supermarket cardboard boxes plus parcel tape for constructing a "bike box":
I've also used a plastic bag that came with a new mattress for the bike when flying, and @ianmac62 will recall we used plastic bin liners and parcel tape ("tapas adhesivas para parcelas" acccording to Google Translate) to make flimsy bags to get the bikes on a long-distance Spanish coach. I once used my sewing machine to make a pertex bag to get the bike on eurostar to paris and back, so i could ride the Loire valley, but TBH it is easier to cobble something together from plastic and then throw it away.
but you need to be careful of the deraillieur, and especially the hanger, if the bike is dropped on that and it breaks you need a new bike. And i recall @Trickedem was going to use a "wheels off and bike in plastic bag" system to get to York for the Hull ride, once. So it can, and has been, done.
I'm a fan of a roll of clingfilm for wrapping bikes. Also of supermarket cardboard boxes plus parcel tape for constructing a "bike box":
I've also used a plastic bag that came with a new mattress for the bike when flying, and @ianmac62 will recall we used plastic bin liners and parcel tape ("tapas adhesivas para parcelas" acccording to Google Translate) to make flimsy bags to get the bikes on a long-distance Spanish coach. I once used my sewing machine to make a pertex bag to get the bike on eurostar to paris and back, so i could ride the Loire valley, but TBH it is easier to cobble something together from plastic and then throw it away.
but you need to be careful of the deraillieur, and especially the hanger, if the bike is dropped on that and it breaks you need a new bike. And i recall @Trickedem was going to use a "wheels off and bike in plastic bag" system to get to York for the Hull ride, once. So it can, and has been, done.
velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
Wobblers
Euthermic
- Location
- Minkowski Space
As Andrew Br's said, do not try to catch a Virgin train without a bike reservation - they won't even let you on the platform at Euston without one. If you can't get a reservation, try looking at going via Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay or Wigan North Western: there's local trains to Manchester from each and it probably won't be too busy at that time of night. Or you could always bike it to the start from Warrington - it's less than 25 miles. You could even catch a train to Runcorn, that's only a few miles more to cycle.
If you do decide on the biking option, give me a shout, I just might be interested in joining you...
U
User482
Guest
Ian, can you get to Birmingham? My travel plans have changed so I have a spare ticket (with bike reservation) from Bristol to Manchester. It stops at Birmingham New Street at 2031, arriving Manchester Piccadilly 2200. I think technically you're not supposed to get on at a station after the departure point, but I can't see how they would check?
To everyone else: my return ticket to Bristol leaves Lancaster 1257, changing at Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street (arrives 1458). I have a bike reservation. PM me if it's any use to you.
Last edited by a moderator:
ianmac62
Guru
- Location
- Northampton
On one occasion - going to Olaf's FNR to Brighton - I found myself at Rugby trying to get to Euston before midnight. The only option was Virgin. I hid in the vestibule of the end coach crouching so that neither the bike nor I could be seen through the window from the platform. I spent time rehearsing excuses (... pensioner ... bus pass at the ready for proof ... together with not altogether imaginary tales of woe). At neither stop (Milton Keynes Central or Watford Junction) did a member of Virgin staff appear or any passenger get off or on. The train arrived at Euston twenty minutes early and I wheeled the bike nonchalantly along the platform. The conclusion is that on the last train of the day the staff just want to get to the terminus as quickly as possible and aren't looking for arguments with elderly cyclists.
Here is the bus @mmmmartin mentioned. Sadly not visible in the luggage compartment are two bikes wrapped in bin liners.
Here is the bus @mmmmartin mentioned. Sadly not visible in the luggage compartment are two bikes wrapped in bin liners.
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
What you have to watch with the last train into London on a Friday night is that the guard doesn't leave your bike locked in the compartment and go home (happened to me twice heading for FNRttCs, once I got the cleaner to open up, the next time I wheeled it through carriage A).
ianmac62
Guru
- Location
- Northampton
Even worse, during the day, you can get off at an intermediate station and no-one knows you have a bike locked in that compartment. Despite having told every member of staff on the train. And despite their promises that they'll ring ahead and let platform staff know.
